The Two Mules
by straitjackit
Summary: Jack and Sky need to get their act together and be a team, otherwise the battle may take a turn for the worse... !SPD!
1. Why I oughtta hate you like I do

Title: The Two Mules

Notes/ Warnings: Set early in the season, between 'Dogged' and 'A-Bridged' (simply because I've seen two episodes after A-Bridged, then missed a few. Come to think of it, I've not seen A-Bridged, either). Slight slash, in some cases, please don't be offended. Slight AU, as the timeline is a bit warped. In other words, Omega is already at SPD, but so far they haven't met Sam! Some OOC-ness and language. Oh, and I do not believe in prologues. Finally, I am British and write as such. For example, I write trousers, not pants. Sorry to anyone who finds this weird.

Pairings: To be announced.

Disclaimer: See profile.

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Chapter 1 – Why I oughtta hate you like I do

In a small corner of an insignificant galaxy lay a serene blue, green and white gem against the backdrop of onyx that is space. On this small and seemingly unimportant planet, named Earth, was an odd and deadly species called humans. They were quite possibly the most complex and perverse life forms in the universe, able to be the kindest or most evil creatures imaginable; able to invent the cruellest tortures and greatest pleasures, trying to save each other yet kill everyone at the same time. Certain members of the species seemed to be better at doing so than others…

"Damn it Jack!"

…Especially within SPD Headquarters, the dog-shaped building that housed the police of the planet.

Within the structural anomaly, 2 particular cadets were at odds with each other once again. Jack Landors, former Robin Hood of the streets, thief extraordinaire and current B-Squad Red, attempted to suppress a smirk. Running into the common room and past three of his team-mates, he jumped and hid behind the grey sofa. Shortly after him arrived Schuyler Tate, best cadet in SPD history, a generally by-the-books guy and SPD Blue, a scowl on his face and a horrific, bright blue hat roughly jammed over his head. The arrival of the pair had signalled the silence of the occupants of the room, who were now watching the proceedings with interest.

Z leaned over and whispered to her friends, "Since when has Sky worn hats?"

"Never. Sky hates them. I brought him one for Christmas one year, because it was really cold, and he'd gotten a chill after a snowball fight – he nailed us badly, by the way – but he turned red and shoved it in his cupboard. I think it was because it was blue, and you know he isn't happy with that colour – Hey, is that the hat? Maybe it was the bau-" Bridge's lengthy and mostly pointless answer was cut off as Syd covered his mouth with her hand, sighing. Thankfully, in her view, neither of the other boys were paying attention. In fact, Sky was tearing up the room, searching for Jack, who was considering phasing into the basement with his ability.

Z decided for her 'brother'.

"Sky, he's behind here," she called, pointing behind her. The tall man snarled and pounced behind the sofa, pulling the Afro-American into a head lock and losing his hat in the process. The sudden laughter from his female friends made him let go in embarrassment and attempt to find his hat, giving Jack the opportunity to sit next to the others and use Bridge as a shield.

"Oh god, is that permanent?" Syd finally asked, gasping for breath. Sky glared daggers at Jack, who answered for him.

"Yeah, it took ages to find the right colours. Then I had to bleach his hair to get the right shade out of it," he added, which earned an undignified and girly shriek from the man in question. Both girls started sniggering again, while the human shield blinked, confused. Sky had given up in his search for his hat (which Syd was sitting on, having hidden it) and was standing in the middle of the common room with bright green and pink hair.

"How'd you do it without waking him up?" Z asked, genuinely curious.

"This pair sleep like the dead," Jack replied, indicating Bridge and Sky by shoving the Green Ranger off his lap, happy that he was safe enough, and into the freakishly haired Sky, causing them to topple over.

"Huh, my computer must be busted, I was sure I set it up to detect any intrusions, even if you phased through the floor or something…" Bridge muttered, moving his friend's leg from his face. Sky was attempting to untangle himself from the small pile the pair had made, his face as red as Jack's spandex costume. Beating the crap out of the culprit had slipped from his mind the second he realised the horrible headwear had fallen off, and he found that he wanted to find a corner to hide in.

Syd waved her hand for air from laughing so hard, a grin still present on her face.

"OK, two things. One: why didn't you get Bridge too?" she asked, smiling wider  
(if possible) at the mortified look on Bridge's face. "And two: why didn't you let us in on it!"

These questions reminded her long time friend of his anger. Unfortunately, it was now directed not only at Jack, but also at her.

"What do you mean! Why the hell would you do that to me! I understand that this arrogant asshole though it was funny, but why the fuck would you do this! I look like a fool!" Sky yelled, earning a glare from the former 'street punks' for his comment. Syd's face fell slightly.

"Oh, come on, Sky, it's only a bit of fun. You can re-dye it in a week or so, there's no reason to get so worked up…" She trailed off, noticing that Sky was getting considerably madder.

"Is this what you think is fun? This is completely outrageous and _against the rules_! I should… I shou-"

"You should what? Try to get me kicked out again?" Jack asked, jumping up and pushing Sky backwards, ignoring the yelp from Bridge, who had yet to get up and was now being trampled.

"Seems like a good plan, yeah," Sky replied, bending over and helping his friend up.

"Jesus freaking Christ, it's only your hair! Cruger's not going to go ballistic over it! Get that damn stick out of your ass and get over yourself, you stuck up bastard!" Jack yelled in Sky's face, emphasising the final word. It was a shame Jack hadn't known all the definitions of the word, otherwise he could have prepared himself for the punch to the face and the spurt of blood from his nose as it broke. Staggering backwards and clutching his face, he stared in disbelief at his 'team-mate', who was glaring murderously back.

"Don't you ever-" Whatever Sky had been going to say was cut off suddenly as Commander Anubis Cruger walked into the room. He had to look twice before realising that Sky's hair was truly dyed, but made no outer acknowledgement of it.

"What is going on here!" he bellowed. Instantly, each Ranger looked at the floor, praying he wouldn't single them out.

"Delgado?" he asked, causing Z to wince.

"I don't know, sir. Sky just barged in, chasing Jack and screaming blue murder… Pardon the pun, sir… then he punched him in the face."

"What about what Jack did?" Syd asked, disbelieving. She had thought Sky was out of line, but Z was making out that her former partner-in-crime was completely innocent!

"He dyed Sky's hair and provoked him!" she continued. Both Jack and Sky started speaking, Jack in outrage and Sky, unbelieving. Only moments before Syd had been laughing at him!

"Enough!" Cruger snarled, turning on the last member of B-Squad, registering the slowly developing bruise in Bridge's chin where Jack had previously kicked him (accidentally).

"What happened here, cadet?"

Bridge retold what had happened, surprisingly without rambling, and gaining glares from all present parties. Cruger nodded, thinking of what to do.

"Drew, Delgado, clean up this mess. Landors, Carson, report to Dr Felix and see if he can sort you out. Tate, report to Kat and see if there's anything that can be done about your hair," he decided, ignoring the protests from the girls. "I will come up with a suitable punishment for each of you."

With that, he stalked out, closely followed by Bridge, who wanted to avoid being beaten up further for actually stating what had happened, and eventually Jack and Sky, both glaring daggers at one another.

_If looks could kill, _Syd thought to herself as she started to work on the mess left behind by her friends.

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Sky scrubbed at the tiles with a ferocity he usually saved for sparring matches with Jack or criminals. As he dunked his brush into the water, he splashed half of the soapy contents over the edge, causing it to soak his trousers. He snarled, throwing the almost-useless brush back into the tub, causing more water to be released from its container and seep into his already sopping wet uniform. Getting up, he kicked it and headed back to his room to change, for the third time that day. Cruger's punishments were cruel for each cadet. Sky had to clean the entire base with a scrub brush, knowing that cleaning was the Blue Ranger's pet hate. Syd had been forced to help the trash disposal team move the waste from the base to the incinerator outside the city, meaning she would be up to her neck in filth for a few days. Z had been confined to the lab, which was as much a hardship on her as it was for Kat. The last time Z had spent any time there, she had nearly broken Boom's record for most experiments blown up. Bridge was doomed to gardening for the duration of the punishment, also being banned from toast. Finally, Jack was being supervised by the big dog himself as he learned and recited the SPD Handbook, as well as being forced to do drills on the field, being laughed at by the lower cadets training. Each had been specially devised, and each cadet was suffering.

Sky reached his room and barged in, noticing Bridge hiding in the corner from toast withdrawal. He was rocking backwards and forwards, wiggling his fingers in front of his mouth and mouthing 'buttery'. Smiling slightly and shaking his head, he walked back out in a new uniform. Seeing his room-mate had made him wonder how the others were holding out. It had been, after all, three days since the incident.

_Maybe I should go down for a meal this evening…_ he thought to himself.

As it turned out, everyone was fairing badly. Bridge didn't come out of the corner in his room and Z was snapping at anyone coming near her, her hair singed badly and soot covering her in patches. Syd was wailing and trying to get all the remains out of her hair, while Jack was rubbing his aching feet and mumbling to himself (not that Sky cared about Jack whatsoever).

He sat down next to Syd with a big sigh, before turning to look at her and smiling weakly.

"Alright?" he asked.

"I guess," she grumbled in return. "I can't wait till this is all over… How much longer?"

"4 days," Z supplied helpfully from the sofa opposite. Syd resumed her grumbling under her breath. Sky just sat there, thankful that Grumm had been quiet.

_Pfft, he probably knows exactly what's happening to us and is waiting to ambush us or something…_

Groaning, he hauled himself back up. He hadn't finished the corridor he'd been working on earlier, and he wasn't really that hungry yet.

Jack followed Sky's lead and left roughly 10 minutes afterwards, just after Bridge had finally decided to leave his corner. Seeing the two girls were alone, he went and sat between them.

"Girls," he nodded.

"Guy," Z replied. Even during the evils of the punishment, all three had turned up to the common room to discuss their problem.

"It's getting worse," Syd sighed after a long silence. Bridge nodded glumly, head hanging.

"This is so stupid!" Z grumbled, smashing her fist into the table. "Why can't we just lock them in a closet and be done with it! And don't say a word, Bridge, it was rhetorical."

Bridge closed his mouth quickly.

"Even the Commander's starting to get concerned," the Pink Ranger continued. "And he's pretty oblivious. By the way, how are things going with Kat?"

"Terrible. I've managed to single-handedly postpone the S.W.A.T. project for another 3 months, trashed the brand new bike Kat designed especially for Sky after his hissy fit, accidentally release two criminals from containment and had to capture them again, not to mention all the bottles of junk I threw down the drain. I thought they were gone-off milk bottles! They sure looked it, and smelt it."

"Bridgey?"

"The gardening's alright, I guess, but I'm really not happy being outside. Every time Jack walks by, he mutters threats at me and glares. He thinks I don't notice, but he's really obvious, and complaining all the time doesn't help seeing as I have to deal with more emotions out there… And there's no 'buttery' toast all day," he rambled, slower than usual, wiggling his fingers tiredly as he said 'buttery'.

Z cracked a smile.

"I heard about your breakdown today. You were wiggling your fingers for hours! Syd? How are you holding up?"

"I've been complaining about it all afternoon, you know what's wrong with me."

"I wish we could help the others work as a team," Bridge sighed. "I mean, we all work well together…"

Syd's face lit up. "Guys, I've just had the best idea EVER!"

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Cruger watched the two Ranger's in front of him, sighing mentally. He couldn't believe it had come to this, taking ideas from _Sydney_ of all people. Berating himself for his previous thought, he turned on the two, which stopped their bickering.

"It has come to my attention that the alien Omega is tracking has an accomplice in Angel Grove. It is vital that you do not let him get away, the very future of the planet could depend on it. This is Heavyarms," Cruger said, pointing to the hologram Kat brought up. It showed a red, orange and white robot-like creature, yellow horns sticking out of the front of its head and green eyes staring out menacingly. One arm was a double-barrelled machine gun, the other holding a switchblade. The chest panels were open, revealing barrage cannons, and heavy white boot-like legs stuck out from the torso. It was covered in red armour, giving it a hardcore look.

"Our intelligence states that he's in Angel Grove to gather together the remaining aliens from the days of Rita and Zedd's attempts to conquer Earth," Cruger continued, grinning slightly at the looks of disbelief on their faces. _It certainly was a long time ago…_

"We need you to tail him and intercept him before he can make contact. Should he succeed, we could have two wars on our hands instead of one."

Both boys saluted the Sirian. "You can count on me, Sir," both said at the same time.

"It is imperative you work together, or else you will fail. You leave in an hour. Wear civilian clothing and take one of the cars in Bay 9. Dismissed."

Jack and Sky saluted, before turning heel and practically racing each other to the door. Cruger shook his head. He truly hoped this would work…

_To be continued…_

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Like it? Hate it? Please leave a review, as this is my first PR fanfiction on the site, and all reviews are appreciated. I did forget to mention that Heavyarms is essentially the machine piloted by Trowa Barton in Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing), so I don't own it either. I really do love comments and criticism, so please review! I'm not too proud to beg! Chapter 2 will be up in between a week and 9 days. The story should be between 7 and 24 chapters long (a large gap, I know); it depends on your comments and whether I go in depth about relationships or not. Title chapters are taken from Franz Ferdinand songs, go listen if you haven't already!

This chapter's title is taken from: You're The Reason I'm Leaving.

Most notes won't be this long, usually consisting of the song the title's taken from!

If anyone is offering, I'd love a beta-reader! (Hint hint)

Thanks for reading!

Yours, Straitjackit (soon to be ruler of Earth).


	2. I don't know you and I don't want to

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed: alexis, here's your update, sorry it took so long. Little, was that sarcasm? If not… thanks! Anyway, I thought Jack sucked at his recon mission with Syd, so if you think otherwise, it's slightly AU (well, it is as that mission never happened in this…) I just realised that Tommy and company would be about 50 in SPD. Cool. Eep, the last chapter was 6 pages long! What!

Pairings: To be announced (evil grin). Nightlancer6000, I'm afraid what I did tell you has changed slightly. (bigger evil grin) It turned out my original plan for the story didn't work. So now everything said before (well, except the previous chapter) is redundant.

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_**Chapter 2 – I don't know you and I… I don't want to**_

Sky hauled his case through the front door, muttering obscenities under his breath. He couldn't believe how badly he had wanted to throw this mission back in Cruger's face, but knew he couldn't; one week of cleaning was bad enough.

_Then again, another week might just be better than this_, he thought to himself, looking over at the black man bringing in his own suitcase. A scowl immediately developed on both faces, and they started unpacking while ignoring the other as best they could.

_Thinks he's so great,_ Jack complained mentally, unaware of how childish he sounded. _Little kiss-ass, making out he's so high and mighty when he depends on me to get him out of a situation! We'll see who completes this assignment first, and then it'll prove to him that he's no better than me!_

Sky, meanwhile, was pondering over what he would do after the mission (as he would, of course, complete it quickly, efficiently and - most importantly - _alone_).

_I have some extra hours built up, perhaps I'll go watch the Matrix marathon; the graphics were terrible back then… But it's time away from the Academy, and Dad always loved them…_

A small smile formed on his lips, thinking of how his dad had explained so passionately about the trilogy of films, even though the young boy hadn't understood a word his father said. Jack, unfortunately, saw the smile and misinterpreted it.

"What are you smirking about?" he snarled. Sky glared in retaliation.

"Oh, just about how badly I'm gonna kick your ass on this mission."

_I'll prove to Cruger that he made the wrong decision…_ he added silently.

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Three days later, there was no sign of Heavyarms. Jack pulled at his dreads, groaning.

_Recon missions officially suck,_ he thought. There was no action - just a lot of watching and waiting.

And Jack hated waiting.

The boys had 'strolled' along the streets of Angel Grove to familiarise themselves with the surroundings, and had noticed that it had a rather small alien population, unlike many of the other cities in America. Jack had learned that it was due to the attacks from Rita, Zedd and the various other evil aliens. Angel Grove, once what might have been the most culturally mixed place on Earth, was species-ist.

He was sitting in a small juice bar, close to the local high school, drinking a smoothie. He was vaguely keeping tabs on the people around him, but his mind was focused on something else.

A girl, to be precise.

_I wonder how-_

His thoughts were cut off as a loud scream erupted from the far corner. Instincts taking over, he whipped around to face a young boy, possibly 13 (_Why isn't he in school?_), cowering from an alien. It had strange clothing, so it was probably new. Most aliens tried to fit in. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't place the species.

A loud bang erupted from behind the alien, the impact of an energy blast bowling him over.

The human on the other side sneered.

_Oh. That's what he's scared of._

Taking charge, he barrelled towards the human, probably younger than himself, and knocked him over. The boy, for that was what he was, rolled back onto his feet and traced his lips with his hand, bringing away blood. He glared at the holder of the Red.

"You'll pay for that," he snarled, eyes narrowing to barely perceivable slits. His hand moved to his side, and he looked shocked when he grasped thin air.

Before him, Jack grinned, waving a gun in his hand.

"Not that good are you, kid?"

The teenager smirked. "Kid? You've got to be kidding me. You're what, 22, oldest?"

Looking over his opposition, the teenager smiled.

"This could be interesting after all."

With that, he sprinted away from the building. Jack followed him outside, but couldn't find any trace of the teen.

Growling, Jack went back inside to survey the damage.

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"What the hell were you thinking!" Sky yelled when Jack had returned to their temporary home. Jack rolled his eyes, holding an ice pack to his head. He'd whacked his head against a table after ramming into the violent teenager. He'd been too focused to pay attention to it until after he had checked on everyone's health.

_Which of us is the leader here? _he found himself thinking.

"You could have endangered the mission! We're undercover, remember? No heroics - they draw attention!"

"So what would you have done then, Sky?" Jack asked, eyebrow raised. "Would you have sat back and let the kid shoot everyone in there? Would you have allowed innocent people to die?"

Sky drew back, a slightly ashamed look on his face. Yes, he desperately wanted to show Jack up, but he did have a point…

"You were supposed to be on duty here."

"Don't change the subject."

"It's a good thing I was here, wasn't it?" Sky growled, ignoring the black man's previous comment. "Because I've seen him enter the warehouse."

Jack looked shocked at the startling information.

"What? When?"

Sky smirked.

"Not too long ago, but he's still in there. He's having a meeting, by the looks of things - not many suspects, so I don't think we have any evidence with which to take him in… If we keep an eye-"

A loud explosion cut the Blue Ranger off and both men were on their feet in an instant, guard up. They ran to the window and looked outside, stoic professionalism replaced by abject horror.

The warehouse had exploded.

All that was left of the wretched place was a few metal pillars and rubble. Smoke rose into the air, released from the vivid flames that danced in the remains, burning everything left. The fire licked the air, tainting it with noxious fumes and made its way slowly along the ground, moving to its own rhythm. The two SPD officers morphed and ran out of the building, forgetting their current mission.

Not that it mattered anymore, as the target had been neutralised.

_Crap,_ Jack thought as he jumped through the flames in an attempt to search for survivors. His helmet enabled him to see through the smoke that was rapidly smothering the area, but it wasn't a lot of help. The remains of the building had been charred as badly as the ground, blending in perfectly. He shouted into the ruins, coughing slightly as the filtration system in his helmet didn't filter the noxious smoke completely, and searched hopelessly for anyone who may have survived.

Sky, meanwhile, had called the fire service and started to set up a barricade, lest the more nosey public attempted to find out was going on (or the heroically stupid attempted to help). He could tell from the force of the explosion that no one, alien or human, could have survived.

As he was putting the final part of the street blockades up, he noticed a teenager standing in the alley across the way, watching.

"Hey, kid!" Sky called, waving his hands in a shooing motion. "This is a crime scene, get out of here!"

The boy watched him curiously for a moment, then laughed. It was a short, almost barking sound - not completely natural. In fact, it sounded like the first time the boy had laughed. His ice blue eyes narrowed as he fixed a glare at the Blue Ranger, who felt a chill shoot down his spine. There was something familiar about the boy, but he had never met him before - Sky had an amazing memory for faces.

So what was it?

The boy said something, but he couldn't hear it over the roar of the fire behind him. Sky jumped over the tape, prepared to move the kid himself, but the teen ran away.

The Blue Ranger looked at the spot that the strange boy had occupied.

Why did Sky feel like he knew him?

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Gah, it's dragging, isn't it? Tell me, I can handle it! Sorry about ages for the update, my excuse is coursework but it is a lousy excuse. I'm just a lazy person (and I had to rework the entire thing).

Well, criticism anyone? Is it vague enough still? I'll probably come back to this chapter at a later stage and edit it somewhat...

Yours,  
Straitjackit.


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